It is not always easy to find time for things, unless, of course, it is something that is really important to you. This Sunday, time will be on our minds as we will be moving our clocks forward one hour. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I wonder if such a move doesn’t take an hour off my life.
I know that might sound rather depressing for those of you who read my column regularly, because, you know, I try to write about the positives and the blessings in our lives. But the thought of having one less hour can serve as a positive motivating force. Think about it, what are you able to accomplish in just one hour? What loving and holy acts can you perform in such a short span of time?
The great Sage Hillel reminded us of the importance of time by saying, “If not now, when?” And he was so right because if we don’t do what we are able to now, we might never get the chance again because we never really know how many days we have left on this earth.
I have seen people who were told that they only had days left to live. I have heard families told that, once their loved one’s ventilator is removed, they will only have minutes left. And many of those very same people are still with us. They have been allotted more time and they are taking that extra time they have been given as a blessing.
We are not G-d. We might be able to come up with a probable amount of time someone has left, but G-d may well have other plans. In fact, there is an old adage that says, “The greatest of doctors is time.”
The Chofetz Chaim taught, “People say ‘time is money’ but I say ‘money is time,’ for every luxury costs so many precious hours of your life.”
What have you done with your time lately? A woman walking down the street in a city in the midwest a few weeks back saw a beggar in the street. Looking at the poor homeless soul, she might have thought, “He doesn’t look like he has much time. Let me see if I can make his day.” So she put some money into his hat.
She headed down the street and, after she and her husband had gone a few blocks, they heard the beggar shouting at them to stop. How frightening it must have been to have a homeless man chasing them down.
But they stopped, and that poor soul with not even a watch to wear, caught up to her and told her that when she put money in his hat, her ring had slipped off her finger and fallen into the hat as well. That’s right, when called upon to do a holy deed, the beggar forgot about his own needs and took the time and energy to rush to make someone else’s day.
And talk about “Paying It Forward.” The woman and her husband gave the man whatever cash they had on them as a “thank you.” And, it didn’t end there. She put the story on the Internet and, in no time, a fund was set up to get this Holy Child of G-d, this homeless man, a place of his own.
So next time you get a chance to make a difference in someone’s life, take the time and that good deed might just keep growing and growing.
Shalom my friends,
Rabbi Craig H. Ezring
Rabbi Ezring is a member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains and of the Association of Professional Chaplains, He works professionally in this capacity with a number of healthcare facilities in the area, and with hospice. He is the Spiritual Leader of Temple Beth Israel of Deerfield Beach.
